Different Perspectives
by Booklover1367
Summary: America's love life has always been complicated, but it gets worse when trust and perspective come into play. Rated T just in case. All rights go to Kiera Cass.
1. The Sculpture

_Just take him to the sculpture in the garden. Tonight, midnight. Walk around a bit. Trust me. _

Aspen's words play over and over in my head. I want to trust him. And that idea terrifies me. When I asked why, he bit his lip and told me it was important. That the whole world could possibly be dependent upon it. That prospect terrified me even more.

There's a knock on my door. Oh no. Hands shaking, I smooth out my dress and open the door, stepping out into the hallway to greet Maxon. He gives me a soft smile and we start down the hallway, discussing small subjects for the most part. Every time someone was sent home, it was a reminder that I couldn't stay forever.

"Maxon, what could happen if the rebels kidnapped you?" I ask precariously, and Maxon runs a hand through his hair.

"Not sure." He says, and I bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything that might give away what I'm about to do. I'm not sure what Aspen plans or who he's with, but the small possibility of him working with rebels is what makes me hesitate the most.

We reach the gardens and the sculpture Aspen had described to me. It's so simple yet so beautiful. A three-foot high wall of stones makes a squiggle across the bottom of a ditch. It's so odd and so magical.

Maxon walks down and turns to offer me a hand. I take it gladly, as my feet (at my fault) are only in a pair of strappy sandals. We start down the path, going around each curve of the sculpture slowly. We are in silence, and it is painful, so painful. I set to counting my steps: 191, 192, 193. Maxon grabs my hand. I want to scream. A goblin stands behind me, laughing and taunting about what's to come.

At step 371, Maxon stops. My breath hitches in my chest. Just one more step. Step 372. Then we can go back to the palace. Oh no. Maxon Maxon Maxon.

"Run." I say, but the word only barely forms on my tongue. It is half-whisper, half choke of a sob. Maxon looks confused, but before I can even get a single word out of my mouth, the sound of gunfire poisons the sweet sound of birds chirping and the wind whistling like black ink falling into a glass of water.

Maxon pulls me down to the ground, against the sculpture to shield our bodies. He looks frantic and his eyes are searching wildly for a way out. Suddenly, he pulls me up and we are running, hands clasped, through the gardens. The gunfire is still firing from all sides and I know one thing only: we're trapped. The only way for Maxon to get out is for me to cause a distraction. We have to surprise them. I stop Maxon and pull him back.

"Run." I say and Maxon shakes his head, ready to continue back to the palace with his hand clasping my arm. "No. You go. I'll distract them. I'm sorry." I'm crying now and Maxon looks confused again. I turn and run back to the sound of gunfire, praying Maxon will ignore me and get to safety.

A body throws me to the ground out of nowhere and I scream. I hear them curse and pull me to my feet. Looking now I see it's a man with a gun in one hand and my wrist in the other. He's obviously a rebel and it makes the one fear I had come to life.

Tucking his gun into a holster, he pulls out a radio and tells whoever's on the other line that he has me. I swallow bile that has risen in my throat.

"Let's go. If you scream or fight I have permission to put a bullet in that pretty face of yours." His words sink in and I obey eagerly. I'm part of the Selection, but not Prince Maxon. I'm worth nothing to them. We walk a while, leaving the gardens and into the forest, leaving the city. Fear claws at my chest.

Eventually, we come across a group of people. A bunch of them look over at us and their eyes widen. I look at the ground. A random voice from the crowd shouts something vulgar, sending everyone into laughter. I see Aspen in a corner. I read his eyes. I failed. And he knows it's going to be the death of me.


	2. The Betrayal

I am in a tent. I am gagged. My wrists and ankles are bound tightly with nylon. I try to sleep. It's almost morning. Maxon might be sending out search parties and I can't miss that opportunity. Besides, my ankles and wrists and jaw hurt. It would be impossible to sleep, even if I tried.

I hear someone moving outside the tent. I tell myself it's just someone going to the bathroom or something, but another part of me jumps at the hope that it could be Maxon.

Aspen peels back the fabric of the tent and crawls in. My heart sinks. It's not Maxon. Only Aspen. Anger bubbles inside of me and it's a struggle to swallow it down.

"America." He whispers, and I stay silent. He goes to pull the gag out of my mouth, and I let him but still don't bother to say anything. "You need to get out of here as soon as possible. Not now, it would look suspicious. But eventually. I'm trying to buy you more time." He says, and I turn to look at him.

"North or south?" I ask. He down at his hands, guilty. Of course. It just _had_ to be the southern rebels. "Why?" I say, not bothering to whisper anymore.

"We have a deal. And they needed me to get you to put Prince Maxon out of safety. I'm so sorry America."

"So we're both in trouble?" I ask, because technically they were more dependent on him.

"No, just you. We have a deal. But they can kill you whenever." He says, and his honesty hurts. Aspen had always been someone who did whatever they could for me. Now he had put me in trouble. What was worst though was that he didn't even seem to care that I was as good as dead.

"Why do they want Maxon anyways?" I said, and Aspen looked nervous now, as if he was giving away too much.

But then he finally spoke. "If we hold him as hostage, we think in order to get him back the King might be willing to rid of the castes." He says it so honestly and as if he actually believes in. Everything is so backwards: the way he said "we," the soft honest tone of his voice, and his little knowledge of how hard it is to convince the King of anything. The King is a man with a lot of pride. It's hard to get anything past him.

"Leave." I tell Aspen. He looks hurt, but leaves anyways. Reluctantly, I try to sleep. Maxon probably won't find me. This is a situation I'm going to have to deal with myself.


	3. Escapes and Confession

Early next morning is my first escape attempt. I managed to untie my ankles, and although my wrists were still bound, I only need my feet to run.

I peek outside, looking for anyone who might see me. No one is there, except for a man sitting with his back to me about ten feet away. I step carefully out, trying not to make a sound. I get twenty feet away from camp and then decide to break into a run. This is the same area where I climbed into a tree during one of the rebel attacks, so I remember the way I carried back. I run for a good fifteen minutes before slowing down and speed walking instead. I want to keep my distance. I can see the palace and city in the distance and it's thrilling to know I managed to escape so easily.

"Where are you going?" Aspen's voice is sharp and angry. I freeze and turn slowly to face him. I tell him to stay away from me. "America, please." He says and I hesitate. I don't know what to do. I tried to betray Maxon and now I feel as if I betraying Aspen. Nothing is fair.

He begins to walk towards me and my feet are made of lead. I don't know what to do, even though every instinct in my body says to run. He stops a foot away and suddenly I can't stand it anymore.

"I'm sorry." I say and turn, bolting in the direction of the palace. I don't look back. I can't. I don't hear footsteps behind me, so I trust that Aspen has respected me. That one fact comforts me. I pray for his safety.

When I reach the palace guards surround me and run off in different directions, yelling things. On my way back to my room, Anne, Mary and Lucy all run up, relieved. Lucy is crying and I hug her, telling her everything will be all right.

In my room, Anne fusses over my tattered dress, insisting she make a new one and Mary picks out an outfit since we all know Maxon will be here as soon as he can.

Just as Mary finishes zipping up my dress, Maxon knocks and Anne gives me a hair tie to temporarily deal with my hair. Lucy opens the door and the three of them file out, leaving me and Maxon alone in the room. I expect to him to run up and hug me or let out a sigh of relief but instead there is a deadly tension in the room and Maxon's eyes are serious.

"Your secret isn't going to hide forever." He says, and then I realize what he means. I technically told him I set him up when telling him to run and then when I apologized.

"Maxon." I say, but don't say anything else. There is nothing to say.

"Why did you come back?"

"They didn't want me. I had to get out. They were going to kill me." I say and want to cry. It's true. They were going to kill me. But Maxon isn't going to let me stay here, either.

"You escaped the northern rebels?" He says, with an eyebrow raise. _Aspen let me go_ is what I want to say, but can't.

"Someone let me go." I say and look at the floor. I can tell Maxon wants to know more. But telling him would be the end of me.

"Tell me everything, America." He says, and sits down in one of the chairs in my room, patting the seat of the chair next to him. "It may be the only way to keep you here." He says

I confess. I say everything. That Aspen is the boy I told him about who broke it off with me painfully. I told him about Aspen becoming a soldier and making up. I told him everything I learned while kidnapped, and how Aspen let me go.

When I finish, an unbearable silence takes it's place in the room. Then, Maxon gets up and leaves, leaving me terrified and wondering of what to come.


	4. Suspense

The next morning I sleep in, and it takes me a couple moments to remember where my life is at. There is a chance that Maxon will send me home. But if the southern rebels managed to get into the gardens unnoticed, there was a good chance I could be in trouble again, palace or not. There had already been issues with family attack and it was unclear as to whether or not they would still be guarded when I was sent home.

The sound of my door opening and closing lets me know my maids are here and I sit up, ready to prep for breakfast. Anne pulls a yellow strapless dress that goes to my knees from the closet and turns, holding it up for my eyes to see. There is little conversation. I think they know something's wrong.

"Works for me." I say and Anne helps me into the dress while Lucy and Mary start on my makeup. I stick to simple black flats. I don't want to stand out. I need to pretend like nothing has happened. I'm not sure what the other Elite even know. They obviously knew I had been kidnapped, but would their reactions be?

Hoping breakfast won't be too dreadful, the new guard outside my room escorts me to breakfast. All eyes are on me when I enter. Maxon and Kriss are missing, leaving me to assume they have something special planned for breakfast.

When no one says anything about my kidnapping, I begin to wonder how much exactly they know. Maxon knows I set him up, but do the king and queen know as well?

In midst of my thoughts, I do not notice the quiet at the table. No one speaks, and we slowly disperse. I head back to my room and play a couple tunes on the piano. My maids aren't here and waiting to know if Maxon will send me home or not is torture.

A knock on my door interrupts the piece I currently play. Maxon slips in and I turn around, bracing myself for what is to come. His lips part as if to say something but no words come out. The silence is painful. I want to beg him to let me stay, I want to apologize, say sorry. But I have done enough damage.

"Pack your bags. You should be gone by dinner." And that's that. I don't say a word, only wait for him to leave. Then I stand, and grab my only bag, the one I had when I first came. Grabbing a simple jean jacket to go over my dress, I walk out, as a Three.


End file.
